Speeding on Country Road bedevils Bay Roberts council
By Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Shoreline
More concerns have been raised to Bay Roberts council about speeding and the number of transport trucks using Country Road.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Walter Yetman read a letter aloud to council and staff from a resident of the road, which has a speed limit of 40 kph.
The resident expressed concern about transport trucks and other large trucks using the road, and said there is an alarming number of people speeding there on off-road-vehicles. But the resident also commended council for its work in the community.
“Our council has been doing an amazing job,” wrote the resident, whom the mayor did not identify publicly. “Our town is growing. It is an amazing place to live. I believe that it is our responsibility to inform council when we observe issues that need to be addressed.”
Councillor Silas Badcock said another resident had reach out to him too with concerns about excessive speeding on Country Road, reporting some vehicles reach 70 or 80 kph.
Badcock said he encouraged the resident to write the Town about his concerns, and to watch the meeting to hear council’s discussion of the issue.
Deputy Mayor Geoff Seymour reminded residents to contact the RCMP about such problems, as well. The police will inform the Town if any particular areas or roads get consistent complaints about speeding or otherwise unsafe driving, he noted.
Mayor Yetman suggested the Town could install speed humps on Country Road to deter speeding.
Councillor Dean Franey questioned how council could deal with transport trucks using the road. Franey asserted that if the Town banned transport trucks from Country Road, it would also be expected to ban them from other residential roads with the same speed limit, such as Shearstown Road and George Mercer Drive.
Councillor Frank Deering argued that Country Road is a different case since it acts as a shortcut of sorts, an alternative to the main road.
Ultimately, it was decided that council will discuss the matter further with staff in a private committee of the whole meeting.